“The Mandalorian and Grogu” looks incredible until you realize almost nobody is actually acting

I’d still rather this franchise continue struggling with acting than eliminate it altogether.

“The Mandalorian and Grogu” is about a guy wearing a helmet and his puppet son dealing with CGI creatures. This is a galaxy long, long ago and far, far away that rarely includes facial expressions in its acting, and whose main character usually speaks through a vocoder.

I loved a lot about Mando and Grogu. It reminds me a lot of Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, where the film is really just an adventure on the big screen utilizing the tools and effects TV used to lack. There isn’t that large a gap between TV and “big screen” effects any longer. Everything is intended to be streamed before — if not concurrently with — cinematic release. I enjoy watching most seasons of Star Wars content edited into cinematic versions rather than watching the episodic Disney offerings in their native form, so a lot of this really works for me.

Add in modern Lucasfilm’s love of easter eggs, callbacks, stunt casting, and historical references, and you’ve got plenty of good stuff.

Star Trek IV worked, however, because of the incredible actors, the chemistry between their characters, and the shared history with fans. Mando and Grogu feels closer to a Who Framed Roger Rabbit experience. The similarity to a Star Wars Rebels animated adventure — especially involving the CGI Zeb — often gave me the feeling that I was watching a cartoon.

And yes, that is very Star Wars. It’s just not the version of Star Wars I love most.

The prequel trilogy was shot to look like a comic-book frame in every scene, and it always bugged the hell out of me. Rather than the depth and lived-in feel of the original trilogy, it often felt rendered like a Hollywood set attempting to imitate a place that would have existed naturally in the first films.

The lack of believable humans hurts here too. We mostly see humans as X-Wing pilots, villains, or Sigourney Weaver. When Mando finally removes the helmet and Pedro Pascal is actually allowed on camera, an actor with incredible range is mostly limited to scowling.

There may honestly be as much staff cameo time as there are actual human faces talking in the movie. Add in all the hidden friends who wanted to appear in Star Wars, and you far exceed it.

I’ll also admit that seeing the film in 3D did it no favors. I think it diminishes the beauty of the effects on a big screen and probably adds to the cartooniness. That part is on me. I let my daughter pick.

I’m sure I’ll watch the film again at home to appreciate more detail in the effects work. But I’d still rather this franchise continue struggling with acting than eliminate it altogether.